Crimson Clouds
by Dolphin River
Summary: Go To Rewrite: After being dragged back to Konoha by Naruto when he tried to leave, Sasuke finds out that the blonde isn't who everyone thinks he is. female!Naruto
1. Awakening

_A/N: Changes tofirst couple ofchapters. Alright, so I changed Yume's name to Naru, 'cuz I kept getting confused. Also, she never told them about the Kyuubi or Yondy, and the Sand siblings weren't there to hear her explanation about being a girl, so they don't know. Finally, I hope you enjoy this chapter 'cuz I had to rewrite it about three times because I kept getting writer's block, and it is almost as long as the first two chapters put together so the thing is a monster._

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto._

Sasuke lay in the bed, staring at the sterile white ceiling above him. It was three months after he had tried to leave Konoha for Otogakure. Manacles covered in seals bound him to his hospital bed. The same hospital that he had been dragged back to by Naruto.

Naruto.

Sasuke had heard that Naruto was being released from the hospital today; the wounds Sasuke himself had inflicted upon him had finally healed. There was a click of the lock at the door, and Sasuke sat up and turned his head to face his 'guests'. In walked the Hokage, followed closely by Kakashi, and the other Sannin Jiraiya. These three he had been at least expecting, but not the next two. There, in the doorway, standing next to each other, were

Iruka and Naruto. Naruto whispered something to the adults, and they left the room.

"Oi, teme!" the blonde belted out. Sasuke glared, and the blond quieted down a bit. "I'm leaving the village to train with Ero-sennin tomorrow, but I thought that I should come by and visit, seeing as I know you'll miss me and all, past that 'Avenger' mask of yours."

Sasuke scoffed. "Please, dobe, I've seen past _your_ mask as well, or did you forget that little discussion we had?"

The blonde's face slowly smoothed out to become perfectly blank. "You may have seen past that mask I made, but you have never, _could never_, see past them all. Your mask was good, though it was noticeable since most others like us usually opt for the type of mask you wore, but mine were better, are better. So stop fooling yourself." This caused Sasuke to scowl.

"I'm not the fool here, dobe. It's you. It always was you. You think that you can get strong sitting around here with _these_ people?" Sasuke gave a sardonic laugh. "Don't kid yourself, dobe."

"Kid myself?" Naruto gave a laugh of his own. "You wanted to run off to Orochimaru, _who was going to steal your body_, for a little bit of power? Regardless of the consequences? Well, let me ask you this, Sasuke; where did Orochimaru get that power in the first place? Where did he grow up? Who were his teammates? Where did your _beloved brother_ Itachi get _his _power? Hmmm?" Sasuke gaped, but soon glared at the mention of Itachi. Naruto was turning maniacal, almost shouting the words. "That's right, _baka_. Right in _this very village_, because last I checked _both _of them were _Konoha_ missing-nin." Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suddenly calm again.

Sasuke stared into space, mind racing through his justifications for leaving. In less than a minute, Naruto had shot over 75 percent of them down. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "The Naruto I grew up with in the Academy would never have thought of those things. Just what the hell happened to you that could make you change so much?"

Naruto snorted and turned his back on Sasuke, facing out the window to the view of the village. "That '_Naruto'_ never existed." Sasuke frowned, confused. "Hell, even the 'Naruto' I'm showing you now isn't real. I'm not who you think I am. I never was, and probably never will be."

"What the hell are you talking about, dobe?" Naruto turned back to Sasuke, a strange light in his eyes.

"You want to see past a few more of my masks, teme? Very well." Naruto sat in a chair next to Sasuke's bed, leaning back to lounge in it. As if that were some sort of signal, the adults silently filed back into the room. It probably was. "Tsunade-obaachan, permission to break the Sandaime's Second Law." Sasuke's brow furrowed even further in his confusion, while the Hokage also frowned and looked like she was going to refuse. "Please Hokage-sama." Naruto almost whispered. Everyone looked a little surprised at that, and the Hokage nodded her assent, while Kakashi moved to shut the door.

Naruto stood up and began to pace the room. At one point when he passed Sasuke's bed, he gave a look that clearly said 'no interruptions, or you're not getting anything from me'. "First off Sasuke, I want to tell you that when you said that you were more special than me, you were wrong. I am and always will be much more special than you.

"So!" Naruto chirped, clapping his hands, his mood changing suddenly, "I have one thing to show you. It should be a surprise to a few other people as well." Naruto looked at Sasuke expectantly. Thinking that _nothing_ about the other boy would be able to surprise him, Sasuke nodded his assent.

Naruto smirked, and Sasuke could have sworn he winked. "Thanks Sasuke-_chan_." With a flurry of movement, the blonde went into a chain of seals, Sasuke counted twenty in all, and said one word, "Kai!" Sasuke felt a spike of chakra, that was quickly followed by a lot of smoke that filled the room.

"Well, what do you think?" said a voice, as the smoke cleared. Sasuke looked over to where the blonde had been standing, and all he could think was: _Why the fuck does Naruto look like a girl?_

Iruka and Jiraiya both stared at what was undoubtedly a female version of Naruto, who was even wearing the boy's clothes, which were hanging off her frame. She was different than the 'Sexy no Jutsu' version of Naruto though, most noticeably lacking the other version's large 'assets'. Her face was slimmer, less baby fat clung to the cheeks, and her hair, though just as long, was down, pooling over her shoulders down to her waist. Still, she was thirteen, unlike her counter part who looked older because of her general stature. Her eyes weren't the wide innocent one's of her 'sexier' version, but were still large and set slightly oblique in her face. Framing them were thick luxurious lashes, underneath well arched eyebrows. The whisker marks still showed on her cheeks though.

She placed a hand on her hip, and glared. Suddenly, a choking noise filled the room, and everyone turned to notice both Kakashi and Tsunade trying to stifle their laughter at the looks on the men's faces. Tsunade finally broke down and started laughing till tears ran down her face.

"H-Hokage-sama! What's the meaning of this? Why does Naruto look like a girl?" Iruka finally had the courage to ask.

"Because she _is_ a girl. She always has been a girl." Kakashi replied, because Tsunade was still unable to do so. She looked like she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

"You _knew_?" Sasuke growled through his teeth. When he thought of all of the times they had sat together in the hot springs… he tried to banish those thoughts out of his head, while Jiraiya tried to rid himself of very similar ones.

"I was one of the people who helped develop the jutsu that allows her to change into a boy, though I didn't know it at the time. I was told it was for kunoichi who were going undercover." Kakashi replied, settling down a bit.

"Kaka-sensei," the female Naruto whined, and everybody could tell the voice was definitely feminine.

"Gomen." Kakashi replied with a smile, scratching the back of his head.

"B-but _why_?" Iruka asked desperately. 'Naruto' sighed.

"It's a long story. And since you all know about it, I want to tell everyone else. That way I can get it out all at once." 'Naruto' turned to the Hokage. "Tsunade-obaachan, can you get everyone else while I go change? These clothes are way too big for me."

"Sure, _gaki_," Tsunade replied with a smirk. The blonde girl stuck out her tongue, before deftly jumping out of the open window. "Alright, everyone out of the room. We'll meet back here in an hour. Until that time, Sasuke why don't you sleep?" Sasuke barely had time to register what she had said before black obscured his vision and he slumped back into his bed.


	2. Explanations

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto._

Sasuke woke to the sounds of someone humming a soft tune, while moving things around on the metal table next to his bed. The voice was feminine, so Sasuke automatically thought that the person was Sakura. When he opened his eyes, he expected to see the pink-haired kunoichi, but what he saw was a blonde one, hair deftly braided down her back reaching to her waist. Sasuke quickly sat up, trying to think of a way to escape while the girl was busy arranging the flowers in a bouquet on his nightstand. Then he remembered.

Naruto…was a _girl._ Suddenly it hit him. _He had been beaten by a girl. _Righteous anger flooded his system as he thought about it.

"Calm down, Sasuke." she softly chided him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and glared at her back. How had she known what he was thinking, she doesn't even know him. _Duh, she's Naruto, baka,_ a small part of his brain remarked. He ignored it.

"You're lucky, you know?" Sasuke blinked, confused. She turned around and noticed his confusion, so decided to elaborate. "At least you actually get the chance to kill the person who killed your family. Here, I brought you some food." She dropped a bento box in his lap, and proceeded to unfasten the bindings that held his arms down.

"Why?" Sasuke whispered, staring at the bento.

She looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "Because even though most of what I was, was a lie, you're still one of my precious people. So you'd better not try anything, since there are Anbu waiting outside, and I can still kick your ass, teme." The last part was finished with a foxy smirk on her face, so reminiscent of Naruto.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted more like his usual self, opening the bento to inspect the contents. He actually was really hungry. Instead of finding uncooked ramen like he had thought, there was steamed rice with some kind of seasoned fish, and a few rolls filled with sweet bean paste. He sampled the fish and a savory flavor filled his mouth, causing him to salivate and become eager to eat more. Of course he would never tell her that, she _was_ still Naruto after all.

"Good?" she asked, and when Sasuke didn't spit it out immediately, she smiled in relief. "Good. I haven't cooked in a while, and I had thought that I had gotten rusty." Sasuke stopped eating and stared at her in disbelief. She glared. "Yes, I can cook. I just never did it in front of everyone else because I was playing a very specific role. Most wouldn't think that 'Naruto the Dobe, he-who-eats-only-ramen' would be able to cook."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted again through his full mouth. He finally realized that she was no longer wearing the orange jumpsuit. Instead, she was wearing a three-quarter sleeve, v-neck mesh shirt, over which was a dark red tube top that went all of the way down to her hips, it definitely revealed more than the jumpsuit had but not much more, covering the first few inches of her black pants that reached just past her knees. Her sandals were even black. Around her neck sat her hitai-ate, just like Hinata wore hers, and beneath that hung an aquamarine crystal on a simple leather thong. She wore black finger-less gloves, and bangs covered her forehead where her hitai-ate might have been, while the rest was pulled back, out of her face.

"You might want to finish eating. The others will be here soon." Her voice was amused, and Sasuke realized that he had stopped eating. As if that were the sign, someone knocked on the door. "Oh, looks like that's my cue." She winked at him, then did a quick henge, emerging from the smoke looking like Naruto yet again. 'He' walked over to the door and opened it allowing everybody who was outside in. Teams 8, 10, Gai's team, all walked in along with all of the Konoha instructors, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Iruka. Iruka looked at Naruto as 'he' closed the door, still with a slightly confused face. Sakura ran up to Sasuke and gave him a hug, having not been allowed to see him since his retrieval.

"Alright, minna! You have all been brought here because, unless Ero-sennin has changed his mind, I'm leaving on a long term training trip and before I leave there are some things I wanted to speak with you about." Naruto started. Everyone broke out into confusion, wondering about her trip.

"Everyone, calm down!" Tsunade ordered. They all hushed, uncertain of what was going to happen next.

Naruto cleared 'his' throat. "That wasn't what I needed to speak with you about. But this second part requires a demonstration." Taking a deep breath, 'he' brought 'his' hands together in a tiger seal. "Kai!"

They were completely surprised, even Shikamaru, when Naruto turned into a, admittedly attractive, girl. Everyone was gawking, even Neji, who was one of the most emotionless people you could ever have met. Hinata fainted. Kakashi and Tsunade burst out laughing yet again, and Sasuke smirked, finally realizing what was so funny about the expressions.

"So you're trying to tell us that you are secretly a transvestite?" Kiba asked.

"No, Kiba," she said irritated. "I'm trying to tell you I secretly _was_ a, as you so eloquently put it, 'transvestite.' All of this time, I was really a girl." She glared at Kakashi and Tsunade who were still snickering in the corner.

All at the same time, Kiba and Neji had the same thought that Sasuke had earlier: _I was beaten by a girl?_

Suddenly, Iruka stepped in. "Perhaps you should start from the beginning, Naruto."

She opened her mouth to explain, when Shikamaru interrupted her. "Is your name really Naruto?"

She blinked at the question, then gave the room a sly smile. "Nope."

"Well, what is it?" Ino demanded.

"It's Naru, Uzumaki Naru."

"Ah, that explains your attitude."(1) Sasuke quipped, causing Naru to scowl angrily at him.

"So how is it that you were able to…" Neji started.

"Able to what? Look like a boy for the majority of my life?" Naru finished. "It was a specially designed jutsu, similar to 'Sexy no jutsu'. It's a variation of the 'henge no jutsu' but unlike 'Orioke' this one was much, much more complex. The initial activation of the jutsu requires a total combination of 48 hand seals, while the deactivation is 20. There are so many to deactivate to make it harder for an enemy to release the jutsu and find out I'm really female. It can't be dispelled by a simple punch, or else you all would have figured out I was a girl a long time ago." Everyone looked surprised at that.

"How come those of us who have doujutsus were unable to detect a difference?" Neji asked sullenly.

"The jutsu was designed for my protection. As such it had to be undetectable, even by bloodlimits. Sandaime-ojiichan hired a specialists team to create the jutsu, it consisted of at least one Hyuuga, and Kaka-sensei who had the Sharingan. There was probably an Uchiha there to make sure nothing could go wrong against the clan. The essence of the jutsu is that it actually changes me into a male version of myself, possibly even on a cellular level. The hormones produced are male, so Inuzaka's and Aburame's can't smell the difference, and my chakra structure is slightly changed to match a male's so Hyuuga's and Uchiha's can't tell the difference from that." She tapped the side of her head. "The only difference is up here, so only Ino and her family would be able to tell that I didn't think like a boy, and thus wasn't a boy."

"Also, the jutsu can't be copied by the Sharingan." Kakashi said looking at Sasuke. "And apparently Naru is the only one who can use it."

"How come you would need to be a boy for protection?" Ino asked, surprised that this girl would really know the logistics behind such a complicated jutsu, let alone knowing the jutsu itself. She was Naruto after all, wasn't she?

"Think about it. I'm an orphan. While I was a boy many would think that I wouldn't hesitate to protect myself, but if I were a girl…"

"Then there would be a few villagers who would think that they could get away with molesting, maybe even raping, you." Shikamaru finished for her. Sighing, Naru picked up the bento box Sasuke had been neglecting since the conversation began, sat down and started to munch on the contents. "And then while you were a boy, you acted like an idiot to seem like less of a threat."

Naru smiled at Shikamaru. "Exactly."

"So what was with all of the ramen you ate?" Chouji asked, eyeing the bento while chomping on some potato chips. Now this what something everyone wanted to hear.

"You should know Chouji. After all, I could ask you the same thing with food in general. But to put it bluntly, I needed the constant supply of energy the ramen gave to my chakra. See, the only reason I was able to use the gender changing jutsu was because it requires a lot of chakra. Most kunoichi don't have the necessary amount to even activate the jutsu, and then to keep the jutsu running for such a span of time required me to be able keep chakra pumping into the changes. We found that all of the carbohydrates in the ramen noodles replenished my chakra source the most at a faster rate, so as long as I ate a sufficient amount I could keep the jutsu up as well as do normal training. To most kunoichi, the jutsu is effectively a kinjutsu. In the long run, however, it helped me increase my natural reserve significantly, and it was also partially why I never gained any weight from all of the ramen."

"Wow, dobe, I never actually believed that you had a logical explanation for your ramen addiction." Sasuke smirked, then suddenly found one of the chopsticks Naru had recently been using quivering in the wall next to his face. Kiba whistled appreciatively.

"How'd you do that?"

"Used chakra to strengthen the wood of the stick, and to add a sharp edge." Naru explained. "And viola, instant kunai or senbon."

Through all of this, Sakura just stared at Naru.

"Just how much did your real personality show through when you were Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Most of the time my personality shows, but it was only during battle when 'Naruto' would show superior battle tactics when my real intelligence level was shown. I hide that so that people underestimate me. I slipped a few other times but those were mostly unnoticeable or easily passed off."

"Like when?"

"I think they happened during the Chuunin Exam. When I woke up after Sasuke scared off the Oto-nins, I asked Sakura what happened to her hair." Naru sighed and looked at the staring Sakura. "I always admired your hair, Sakura. The second time was during the preliminaries, when Neji said that women were weak fighters. Still think that, Neji?" she asked him as she turned to him with a smirk.

"When you were Naruto, how much were you holding back?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Depends upon what you're asking about." Naru replied just as quietly.

"How fast are you really?" Lee suddenly asked, intently.

"Honestly? I don't know. Probably not much faster." It seems that that was all she was going to say about it.

"What about your relationships with people? Were they all fake too?" Sakura finally desperately asked. Naru sighed sadly.

"Mostly? No. I still care deeply for all of you, otherwise I never would have told you all of this. Like I told Sasuke before all of you arrived, you are all still my precious people and I will protect you at all costs. But there are some aspects that were indeed fabricated." Everyone held their breaths.

"First off, Sakura, I never had a crush on you. It was part of the façade I wore as Naruto, to hide the fact that I wasn't a boy. However, I still consider you a close friend, and hope that you think of me as one as well. Secondly, Hinata," the 'unconscious' girl gave a small squeak. "I knew that you had a crush on me when I was Naruto, and I am deeply sorry about how all of this turned out. I hope one day that you, _all_ of you, will forgive me for the farce I led you through and that you will still think of me as your friend." Standing up Naru handed the mostly empty box and remaining chopstick back to Sasuke, then turned to Jiraiya. "So we still leaving Ero-sennin?" she asked.

"Yeah. But only for a year, instead of the three that we planned. The last two will be spent here." he replied.

"Alright." she gave him a mocking salute, "See you guys in a year." she said to them and walked out of the door to go pack, while everyone watched her leave.


	3. Relocation

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto._

_One Year Later:_

Naru wriggled her toes in excitement. There in front of her, lit up in the late morning light, was her village, her home, and after a whole year of traveling around with nobody but a perverted old man, she was anxious to head back to her apartment to take a bath and sleep the rest of the week away. She ran a hand through her hair, which was now shorter than before; little longer than shoulder length. Turning her head to look back over her shoulder, she frowned at the white-haired man walking up behind her.

"Oi, oi! Hurry up, Ero-sennin!"

"Quiet, brat. Don't you know that patience is a virtue?"

Naru rolled her eyes at that; it wasn't a virtue when you haven't bathed properly in two days and you felt like you were caked with rancid oil. Letting out a huff of annoyance, she walked over to the gates, pulling out from her supply pouch her Ninja ID. She handed it to one of the Chuunin gate guards, who looked it over, checking it's authenticity.

"You can pass." He said, handing back to her. Then, giving her an almost appreciative leer, "Welcome home." Too bad he didn't know how over protective Jiraiya could be of his female students. Go figure.

Dusting his hands off from planting the man into the ground, Jiraiya handed the other guard his pass. The guard just glanced at it nervously before waving them through. Naru looked back over her shoulder giving the frightened man a reassuring smile, while absently wondering if the other man would grow if watered. Shaking the ridiculous thought out of her head, she practically skipped down the street.

"Ne, ne, Ero-sennin, can you visit the old hag by yourself? I need to go home and probably clean up a bit…" Naru asked, giving her most convincing smile. Jiraiya gave her a probing look, then scanned the area around them, before giving her a nod.

"I'll come check up on you later though, so if anyone tries anything funny..." He planted a fist in his palm and cracked his knuckles to emphasize his point.

Naru gave him a bland look. Really, he was worse than an overprotective father, and he wasn't even related to her! Turning in the direction of her apartment, she made a graceful leap onto an awning above a store, before using it to propel herself onto the rooftops. With more agility than she had shown as a boy, she traversed the highway, noting from the corner of her eyes other shinobi who were using the faster route of roof hopping to get to their destinations.

Landing on the small balcony on the third floor of her apartment, she walked down the hallway to her own door. Naru pulled out her key, that hung off of a small Pakkun keychain.(1) Relieved that her key still unlocked her apartment, she quickly wrenched open the door and walked in…

…only to back out hastily, slamming the door shut behind her.

Taking in deep gasping breaths, she looked down at the lock to her door, feeling around the edges for any indications that the door had been forced then covered up. Not finding any such signs, she sighed. _Must have been one of the windows, then._

Opening up her traveling pack, she pulled out a black half-mask, much like Kakashi's, and pulled it on her face. It was made out a special material that blocked out toxic fumes and bad smells, which she had gotten after a run in with a ninja in Grass country that specialized in poison jutsu. While Naru had found out the hard way she was invariably immune to deadly poison, it hadn't been fun when the air sacs in her lungs practically swelled to the size of grapes. That, coupled with the blisters lining the rest of her respiratory system, left her bedridden in agony for two weeks, coughing her lungs up the entire time.

Taking in a deep breath, she pulled up her mask and opened the door once more, walking into the trash dump/animal cemetery that had once, many months ago, had been her apartment. Walking around, infinitely glad that the mask did indeed block unpleasant smells, she surveyed the damage.

All of her furniture had been smashed or torn. The legs of her old, foldable metal table had been either bent or melted, forming rock hard puddles that had cemented themselves to her floor. Her one and only chair lay in pieces, while her old ramen calendar had been ripped to shreds and scattered about the floor. In the kitchen, all of her appliances had been broken, probably thrown against the floor. Ramen cups had been stomped on, their contents making her every step make a small _crunch_ sound, and leaving the bottom of her shoes feeling gritty. The fridge looked untouched, but judging from the condiments and shelves spilled across the floor, whoever had done this had left her a little surprise inside. Shuddering at the thought of what it could be, she moved on to a different section of the area; all the while something was nudging at the back of her mind about the whole set up.

Making her way to the bathroom, she tried to flick the switch, only to find the bulb didn't work. Forming a few hand signs, she made a ball of light form in her palm. She looked up and noticed that the light had been smashed, as had the mirror and the sink. The cabinet as well as a good portion of the floor were suffering from wood rot, her shower curtains had been torn down and left in the tub, and hanging from the now vacated curtain rod was a headless chicken; obviously months old. The toilet lid was down, and she guessed that there was something in there as well.

Finally, that left her room, and she was much more cautious when entering that room than any of the others. If the intruder had left any traps, that room was the most likely, aside from the entryway. Carefully, she walked around the room, taking note of the damage. The bed was, of course, destroyed. The clothes she had left behind were spread around the room, covered in a substance she didn't want to identify. Again things were smashed and general mayhem had been wreaked upon the room.

Walking back through the apartment, she took note of the fact that all of the walls and other surfaces were smeared with feces and what looked like blood. Also, numerous animal carcasses of varying ages were draped about the whole space; some were just the inedible hide and bones, while others looked as though they had been killed barely a week ago. Once again outside of the door, she sighed and formed a very familiar set of hand seals. As a veritable army of about twenty bunshin popped in to existence, she figured that she would have to fall back on her contingency plan for when incident like this occurred; though they had only occurred on such a scale twice in her life, and that was before she had be able to use Kage Bunshin. Pulling out a bulging Gama-chan, she pointed out two bunshin and handed it over to them.

"Go to the store and get as many detergents and cleaners with that as you can, along with several cleaning tools: scrub-brushes, sponges, a few buckets, a couple mops, a broom and dustpan, and some trash bags." They nodded and were about to speed off in the direction of the convenience store, when she halted them. Again something made her pause. "Hold on. Before you do that I want to check something out." Something about this scenario wasn't right.

Walking back out to the balcony that she had previously landed on, she walked to the side of the building. Using chakra to stick to the side of the building, she walked over to her windows. Knowing from her interior inspection that the glass was still intact, she instead studied the area around the frames for any bends or scratches. Not noticing any new ones, she tried to open the windows to see if they were unlocked. Surprisingly, they weren't, and that could only mean one thing.

A sharp snarl came out from behind the mask that she was still wearing, and using the windowsill as leverage, she leapt onto the roof. Sending a mental message to her clones to collect anything that was possibly salvageable, she sped toward the Hokage tower.

-

Five minutes later, she burst into the Hokage's office, where Jiraiya was currently being pummeled into the floor by Tsunade. However, both stopped what they were doing at the apparent rage painting Naru's features. Jumping to his feet, a black-eyed, bloody-nosed Jiraiya scuttled over to her. "What happened? Did somebody make a pass at you?" His eyes lit up in fury at the thought.

"No," she said sweetly, "just turns out I underestimated the amount I needed to clean." She gave a very evilly, sweet smile to match her tone. Pulling at the mask that now hung around her neck for emphasis, she said, "Seems somebody decided to turn my apartment into a jutsu testing site and a mortuary for stray pets while I was gone."

"Who?" Tsunade asked sharply, delicate brow drawn together into a frown.

"I have suspicions it was my landlord. Or, he at least had a hand in it. There weren't any signs that the doors or windows had been forced, and the windows were still locked. Also, now that I think about it, the mess hasn't been cleaned up even though it smells horribly, and obviously the ceilings of the apartments below mine should have gotten waterlogged from the broken faucets in the bathroom." Naru explained heatedly.

Tsunade nodded her head at each point, seemingly contemplating something, before she snapped her head up and said, "Let me see how bad it is, and I'll see what I can do from there."

Naru nodded, and left the room, Jiraiya and Tsunade following close behind.

-

Twenty minutes (only because Jiraiya and Tsunade don't do the roof hopping thing unless it's an emergency) found them once again at Naru's apartment, only to discover her landlord, Hitsuki-san, arguing with one of the bunshin. The balding man's face was a vivid red, and he seemed to be resisting the urge to attack the clone, because the others surrounding it looked like they would pounce at any indication of violence on his part.

"What is going on here?" Tsunade demanded, hands on her hips and scowl planted firmly on her face.

"Hokage-sama!" Hitsuki said, obviously surprised. "I was just talking to my tenant. I was making a few rounds, when I noticed the door to this apartment open, and went to investigate only to find the most appalling mess inside." One of the clones began making humorous faces while imitating the man behind his back, causing the three to choke back laughter. Pausing for a minute, Hitsuki glanced behind himself to see what the commotion was, but not before the bunshin was able to school it features into the impassive contempt it was wearing before. Hitsuki looked at it for another minute, before turning back the three real nin. "I was just explaining to _Uzumaki-san_, that she needs to pay for damages incurred."

Naru play-acted a rather convincing sneeze, rubbing her nose as she noticed everyone else looking at her in confusion, even the clones. "Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit." she explained, causing the civilian man to nearly turn purple in rage. "Tell me, _Hitsuki-san_, does it hurt?"

"Does what, _Uzumaki-san_?" he ground out.

"Saying my name with respect like that. Because, _Hitsuki-san_," Naru was deliberately putting as much derision into his name as he was into hers, "you sound like you're constipated and look like you're about to have an aneurysm every time you do." She smiled sweetly.

Tsunade gave a Jiraiya a look at the exchange, to which he gave a shrug. Finally, she decided to end the thrashing that Naru was giving the man's ego; there was definitely no love lost between the two. "Naru, will you please let me see the apartment?"

Naru nodded, "Sure, Tsunade-baachan." She handed the older woman her half mask, "You'll want to use that, if not for the fumes then for the stench." Naru made a face at the last part.

Barely five minutes later, Tsunade walked out again, making sure to wipe her shoes off on the mat outside the door. Taking off the mask, she looked at the civilian man. "Hitsuki-san," she said imperiously.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." It seemed in the five minutes she was gone he had begun twitching spasmodically.

"You do realize that it is a crime to lie to the Hokage, and that it could be considered usurpation and treason? And by aiding and abetting such hate crimes, you have gone against the law set down by my sensei," He flinched, not looking her in the eye. "You obviously know the punishment for such crimes. So, after seeing the state of the matter this is my decision; Naru is hereby free of any payment toward you for the damages, because she has been gone from the village under my authorization for the past year, and it is obvious that this has been going on longer than the few hours that she has been in the village. You are to reimburse her for the damages her own property sustained, though you may keep her security deposit. And finally, by my order, Naru is going to be moved elsewhere. So it looks like not everything is out of your favor. If you have a problem with my decision, file it with the council, though I assure you they will rule in _my_ favor."

Tsunade signaled to Jiraiya and Naru, and they headed back to her office, a couple of bunshin following behind carrying the dirtied clothes and Naru's traveling pack.

-

Naru sifted through her clothes, sitting on the floor as Tsunade and Jiraiya sifted through pamphlets of possible places to live. Few looked decent to live in and still be within a genin's budget. Occasionally a few had to be thrown out because they had either been destroyed during the Sand-Sound War or because of a careless shinobi tenant. Others had little notes scribbled on them from Sandaime, and from these they could construe that he had used some of these when originally finding Naru an apartment, though there were other notes for orphans; one even mentioned the name Uchiha Sasuke.

One such scribble, however, caught Jiraiya's attention.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing to it. It read, _'Hokage's Property Log: Sector 3, Plot 7.'_

"There are certain properties throughout Konoha that are owned by the Hokage, either because they were already owned or bought by a Hokage, or they were confiscated for certain reasons." Tsunade explained. "The sector explains the part of Konoha the land is located, while the plot is the actual section of land. A Hokage might use the land for any number of reasons. I, personally, just used one such piece to build a new wing on to the hospital."

She reached into a drawer in her desk, pulling out several scrolls. On each scroll, there was a number from one to ten. Pointing to the scroll with the one she said, "This is for sector one, which contains the whole Hokage mountain and the Hokage tower. It is the largest sector in Konoha, followed in size consecutively by number. Sector two contains the Hyuuga and Uchiha complexes."

"So half of that sector is uninhabited," Jiraiya said, looking bemused. He picked up the third scroll and unrolled it to the seventh entry, indicating it he asked, "So how are you supposed to read this?"

"First it is the name of the property, followed by acreage, then it's estimated price- though this one will probably be a little under since it is out of date- then general info about the place. Buildings on the property, type of ground soil it has, and how it came to be in our possession is usually written there." Following that general description, both looked over the specs of the property the Third had mentioned, and proceeded to nearly have their eyes roll out of their sockets. Speechless, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya, questioning. He shook his head with a slight frown. She tilted her head slightly, giving him a look. He sighed then nodded.

"Argh! That bastard!" Tsunade and Jiraiya jumped, swiveling toward the young blonde. "Half of my underwear is missing, the damn pervert!" Naru howled, shaking a latex-glove clad fist at the ceiling.(2)

Tsunade suddenly heard a growling noise from beside her and turned to see a monstrous looking Jiraiya jump through her window. She glared at the now broken window; he was going to pay to replace that. Turning back to the other blonde female, she called to her, "Naru."

Naru turned to look at Tsunade, blinking.

"We found a place for you to live, however, it is not an apartment and your stay there might be temporary." Tsunade said, tiredly.

Naru cocked her head to the side, much like an animal would do, and asked, "Where is it?"

"It is in an area near the Hokage mountain, so it's relatively close by. However, the place hasn't been used in years and it'll have to be cleaned out. So I was thinking I could get a team of genin to do it and we could get them to wash those clothes for you. I figured I could make it C-rank so that they would snatch it up, and also because we don't know what that substance on your clothes are or whether there are traps in the house."

"A house?" Naru was wide-eyed at the thought.

Tsunade nodded, before saying, "I can't get the mission assigned today, so you'll have to stay somewhere else for tonight. But, other than that, it should be cleaned tomorrow and your clothes the day after or so."

Naru touched her lips thoughtfully, nodding slowly. With all of the money she saved up while she was gone, she could easily afford a C-rank mission, though if she had to pay bills… "What about general services like electricity and water? Or gas for heat? Do I have to pay for those, or rent even?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, the property belongs to the Hokage, which in this case is me, and so everything will be taken care of while you are there under my name."

"Alright. Have any ideas of where I could be staying for the night?"

"Yes, but only one really feasible idea…"

-

Naru knocked nervously on the shouji door, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet. She couldn't _believe_ Tsunade had her come here of all places! Biting her lip, she waited anxiously until she heard soft footsteps on the other side of the door. The door made a low _thunk_ before sliding open and Naru came face to face with a brunette around her own age.

"N-Naru-san, w-what are y-you doing here?" the pale-eyed Hinata asked as she stared out at the blonde.

"Hinata! Oh, I'm so glad you answered! The reason why I'm here is that I just got back from my trip today and I had a run-in with my landlord, and so until tomorrow I don't have a place to stay. I hope you don't my asking, but if it is alright with you and your father, do you think I could stay the night? Really, I would have asked elsewhere, but due to certain circumstances you're the only one I could go to." Naru said hastily, rushing to explain herself. Poor little Hinata barely understood.

"I-it's okay, Naru-san. W-we sh-should go speak with m-my father, th-though I-I'm sure he'll agree." Hinata consoled, practically pulling Naru into the foyer. Naru took off her shoes and followed the Hyuuga deeper into the vast mansion.

Hinata finally stopped at a door, where she knocked politely. Hearing consent for them to enter, she kneeled opening the door then moved out of the way for Naru to enter, before following and repeating the kneeling process to close the door.

Hyuuga Hiashi was kneeling in the middle of a small sitting room, and in front of him was a cushion while behind him to the right was one more cushion. Hinata sat on the cushion behind her father, while Naru bowed politely in greeting, "Hyuuga-sama."

"Uzumaki-san," he replied, nodding his head in turn. "What brings you to my ancestral home this afternoon?"

She kneeled on the cushion that was obviously placed there for her, and, keeping eye contact with powerful man, explained her situation to the Head of the Hyuuga house, leaving out the inconsequential details; it was much like a mission report, with a little more animation. When she finished, he spoke again, "I see. So it is just for tonight?"

"That is what Tsunade-baba has led me to believe, Hyuuga-sama."

"Why is it that you could not go to any of the other girls your age, or for that matter, the other female on your team?" He queried, tone deceptively neutral.

Naru grimaced. "Sakura's family are all civilians, and so they tend to not…_approve_ of me. Ino and her team are currently out on a mission for the next few days, and I don't know Tenten all that well, aside from the fact that we don't really know how their family would react. Also, Jiraiya, pervert though he may be, would never let me stay with Sasuke or any other boy."

Hyuuga Hiashi raised his eyebrows slightly at this. "Very well, you may stay for the night. Hinata, please show her where she will be staying, as well as everything else she will need. Dinner is at six."

"Thank you, Hyuuga-sama." Naru stood and gave another bow, before scuttling out of the room after Hinata.

* * *

(1) I think I remember seeing that Naruto had a Pakkun keychain in one of the anime.

(2) Seriously, would you want to touch something covered in an unknown substance with your bare hands?

* * *

**Omake:**

Landing on the small balcony on the third floor of her apartment, she walked down the hallway to her own door. Naru pulled out her key, that hung off of a small Pakkun keychain. Relieved that her key still unlocked her apartment, she quickly wrenched open the door and walked in…

…only to back out hastily, slamming the door shut behind her.

Wide-eyed, Naru stared at the doorknob. She didn't just see what she thought she saw, did she? Why was there a _half naked_ Sasuke lounging on her couch?

He must have gone crazy while she was gone.

She had to get out of here!

Turning around, she was about to run off, when a tendril of sand wrapped around her waist, halting her getaway. Craning her head to look behind her, she noticed Neji and Gaara walking toward her from the opposite end of the hall. She definitely did _not _like the predatory gleam in their eyes.

"Come, come, Naru-san. Running away so soon? We haven't even gotten started yet." Neji said evilly, opening the door to her apartment before walking in.

"Nooooo!" Naru wailed, screaming bloody murder as she was dragged, kicking and clawing,into the enclosed space by Gaara, her shrieks finallycut off as the door was shut.

To be continued...?

_A/N: Sorry, that line in the story just inspired the Omake..._


	4. Friendship

_A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I got writers block on this chapter and it sat around on my hard drive for months, along with a few other things which are explained in my profile. This chapter is a bit slow, though I think the ending is a bit rushed. shrugs Hope you enjoy!_**  
**

**Disclimer: I do not own Naruto nor it's characters. They are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

**----**

Once again following Hinata down the hallways of the Hyuuga complex, when they turned a corner that was what Naru deemed a suitable distance from the meeting room, Naru leaned heavily against the wall taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. Hinata noticed that she wasn't following, and turned around to give Naru a timid, questioning glance.

Smiling reassuringly, Naru said, "I'm not used to being so polite. Trying so hard takes a lot of energy."

"Oh," Hinata squeaked, flushing slightly.

Looking around the hallway they were in, Naru frowned slightly. "Ne, Hinata, how big _is_ this place anyway? It's like a freaking maze in here!"

"U-um, well, i-it's not as b-big as it s-seems. I-it is j-just something y-you n-need to get used to." Hinata replied, the flush on her face deepening.

"Really?" Naru asked skeptically. "Hmm, I suppose that could be true. I'm probably just used to my small apartment and hotel rooms…" She stood up from where she was slumped against the wall and nodded to Hinata lead the way again.

"U-um, Naru-san?" Hinata asked hesitantly, determinedly looking at the floor. Naru made a curious noise, indicating Hinata to continue. "I-if I m-may ask, w-why d-do y-you l-live…" Her nervousness getting the better of her, she was unable to continue the question.

"You mean, why do I live in an apartment by myself, don't you?" Naru queried the shy girl, a small smile on her face. Hinata nodded her head quickly, still unable to speak. Naru made a contemplative noise in the back of her throat, as she clasped her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling. "Well… they wouldn't accept me at the orphanage, and none of the foster families would take me in… actually, no family would accept me, period. So, Sandaime ojii-san decided that it would be alright for me be by myself." Noticing Hinata's surprised, and slightly appalled, look she added, "Under his strict supervision, of course."

"Why?" Hinata whispered staring at Naru, her stuttering disappearing with her dismay.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it," Naru said quickly, waving her hands in front of the other girl, startled by Hinata's obvious horror with the situation. "It probably turned out better this way than if we actually _had_ found someone to take me in. Really, I'm happy with the amount of freedom I had." Naru shuddered inwardly at the thought of someone adopting her, then using it as a chance to abuse her.

"But why?" Hinata asked a little louder, breaking Naru out of her reverie.

Naru sighed, and gave Hinata a subdued look. "I can't tell you the reason. At least, not yet. So, let's just say that people fear things that they don't understand, and there are things about me that they don't understand."

The tone in Naru's voice said that that avenue of discussion was closed, so Hinata wisely stayed silent as she continued to lead Naru to the room she would be staying in, all the while contemplating this information. She knew people hated Naru- she hadn't watched her all the time when the blonde was a boy not to notice- but she didn't know that it was to the extent that they would willingly let her rot on the street. Hinata gave Naru a discreet glance right as they reached the room, feeling sadness at what her friend had to go through.

"H-here is y-your room." Hinata said quietly, "M-mine is right n-next door, if you n-need anything." She indicated the appropriate door, then pointed to a door on the other side of the hall. "T-there is the b-bathroom. Y-you are f-free to roam a-around until d-dinner." Hinata turned to walk away, but was startled when Naru stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Um, Hinata, do you have any clothes I could borrow? All of mine are dirty and I've been wearing these for the past couple of days, and I really, _really_ need to take a shower." Naru asked anxiously.

Hinata blinked at the short blonde girl, then blinked again before replying, "H-hai." Then embarrassed, she turned and went to her own room and disappeared for a moment before returning with a dark bundle. "I d-don't t-think that a-any of my o-other clothes w-would fit you, and w-we u-usually wear t-these around t-the house."

Naru's eyes lit up at the sight of the clothes, which she quickly took from Hinata. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hurried off in the direction of the bathroom, but before she could shut the door, Hinata spoke up from behind her.

"Um, if you g-give me y-your dirty c-clothes w-when you're done, I c-could h-have them w-washed tonight." Said the brunette sheepishly.

"Really?" Naru asked excitedly, and at Hinata's timid nod, replied, "Okay!" Before disappearing into the bathroom.

Dropping her pack on the floor and setting the clothes on the counter, Naru hurriedly rushed over to the shower. She turned it on and ran her hand under it until it reached a comfortable temperature, then moving over to her pack, she ruffled through it until she pulled out her bathing supplies. Quickly, she stripped out of her clothes, leaving them on the floor, before jumping into the relaxing warmth of the shower.

She sat there for a few moments, just letting the water run over her, relishing in the feeling. When Naru felt that she had soaked long enough, she grabbed her razor and quickly began attacking her legs and underarms, making them silky smooth once more. After that, she grabbed her soap and a small towel, and viciously scrubbed her body down until it glowed a light pink, making sure to get under her fingernails where she could see some dried blood from a recent fight. Once finished, she lathered up her hair with shampoo, finally allowing herself to slow down in her cleansing ritual to think.

About a day and a half ago, they had been attacked by a small group of Sound-nin who had noticed her wearing a Konoha hitai-ate. Needless to say, that because the shinobi were so close to Konoha, they had to be dealt with. While the old pervert had fought most of them, a couple had engaged Naru. She shuddered at the thought of their deaths at her hands, and glanced at her pack, in which their hitai-ate now lay. She had taken them and dipped the ends of the sash in their owners' blood, before stowing them in her kunai pouch.

They were her remembrances for the dead.

Rinsing out her hair, she thought of how they had to keep alert for the rest of the trip, not allowing her the chance to wash her clothes or bathe. She shampooed her hair once more for good measure, before adding conditioner. There were three other blood-dipped hitai-ate in her pack that were a few months older; two from stone, and one from grass. Tipping her head back into the spray of water, she washed the conditioner from her hair. None of the shinobi she had fought were truly strong, maybe chuunin level at most; those that were had battled with Jiraiya, knowing him to be the real threat.

Turning off the water, she stepped out and began searching for a towel. Finding a large, fluffy white towel in one of the cupboards, she wrapped it around her slim figure, then moved over to the mirror where she wiped the steam off a gazed at her reflection. Her tired, aged eyes stared back at her as she looked herself over. Her attention snagged, as it always did, on a thin crescent shaped scar on her right shoulder that peeked above the edge of her towel, and she reached up to caress it. It was the only scar she has ever received, and it serves daily as a physical reminder of her fight with Sasuke. Naru scoffed at that thought. She figured that the old fox let it heal that way on purpose, just so that she would remember.

Naru turned from the mirror and finally took in what the bathroom and it's decorations. It was relatively simple, though gave off a slightly feminine air. It was probably Hinata's bathroom, now that Naru thought about it. Toweling herself dry, she noticed that there were seals all around the room. Wondering why that was while she rubbed her hair with the towel, she suddenly paused as a thought struck her. Here she was, standing naked, in a house where people could _see through walls_. Oh, shit.

In a frenzy, she began pulling the black yukata that Hinata had lent her on, only allowing herself to calm down when she was fully clothed once more. Now that her initial panic had calmed down, the thought that the purpose of the seals might be to prevent the Byakugan from seeing through the walls finally filtered in. Naru pulled her still damp hair back, securing it in a knot at the base of her neck, and bent down to rifle through her pack and pull out all of her dirty clothes, some of which needed mending. She went back to the shower and grabbed all of her bathing products, drying them off before stuffing them back into her pack, and bundling the clothes into her used towel to be washed.

Stepping into the crisp, cool hallway, pack slung over her shoulder and clothes clutched in hand, she strode over to Hinata's room and knocked politely on the door. The door opened and Hinata looked at her in slight surprise before noticing and quickly snatching the bundle of clothes with a hastily muttered, "L-let me t-take those."

Naru followed the brunette into her room, taking in the traditional décor. Wall scrolls hung about the room, a long horizontal one depicting a mountain range above the bed. She went over to the kotatsu table in the middle of the room, and sat down, pack situated at her side. Hinata sat across from her after she had taken care of the clothes, and sat looking at her hands clutched in her lap.

"You have a nice room, Hinata." Naru said after a length of silence, causing the shy girl to jump then blush as the comment sunk in.

"T-thank you, Naru-san." Hinata replied embarrassedly.

Naru began searching through her pack once more before pulling out her brush. "Do you mind?" she asked, indicating the brush, and when Hinata shook her head fervently, she untangled her hair from it's wet knot, and began working out the tangles. The light that came through the window from the setting sun caught on her hair, turning shining gold to a burnished copper, as they sat in silence. When she had brushed her hair enough, Naru moved to pull it back into another simple knot, when a small hand suddenly latched onto her own.

She looked up at Hinata sharply, and the timid girl looked a little worried, before saying, "H-hold on, p-please." She stood up and walked over to a small vanity as Naru watched her sift through objects. Returning to the blonde girl, something clutched in her hand, she asked shyly, "M-may I?"

Intrigued, Naru nodded, and turned her back to the other girl. She felt shaking hands settle on her scalp, gently parting and pulling on her hair, twisting it into some kind of design. Hinata began to insert small pins, keeping the design in place as she moved onto another section of hair, her hands becoming steadier as she continued to work. A few of the shorter strands came loose, tickling her face, and she impatiently pulled them back behind her ear as waited for the Hyuuga heiress to finish.

A few minutes later, Hinata pulled back. "T-there, all d-done." Naru looked back at Hinata, who blushed deeply. Standing up, she walked over to the vanity herself, and peered into the mirror. Her hair had been parted to one side in the front, then pulled low into twists that turned into a more elegant, if slightly unruly, form of the knot that she previously had it in. Pins that had been set with small vivid blue sapphires dotted the twists and knot, accenting the color of her eyes and the dark blue iris embroidered on the yukata she was wearing, The wispy strands of hair that had come loose framed her face, giving a very graceful look to the whole ensemble.

"Hinata," she breathed, reaching up to delicately touch one of the pins. She turned to the other girl, who was blushing fiercely. "I can't wear these, they must've cost a fortune." Naru said, moving to pull them out of her hair.

"Wait!" Hinata blurted, before covering her mouth in surprise. Naru stopped and looked at the other girl questioningly. "P-please leave them in."

"But Hinata…" Naru started, when Hinata interrupted her.

"N-no, it's alright! P-please just l-leave them in f-for tonight." Hinata argued, before she began to press her fingers together while staring at the floor.

"A-alright," Naru choked out, a little startled at the other girl's vehemence. She took another glance at herself in the mirror and was about to make her way back to her seat, when she spotted something on the vanity. Picking it up, she looked it over before giving an almost wicked smile. "Hinata," she said determinedly, causing the other girl to look up at her. "Since I let you do my hair, now it's my turn to do yours."

Hinata gaped at her, blinking a few times, before nodding sheepishly. "O-okay."

Naru swooped down on the brunette, running her fingers through the now shoulder length hair. Quickly, she brushed the other girl's hair back, opting to give her a more sleek look, rather than the stylishly messy look she herself sported. Gathering all of the hair, while leaving Hinata's signature bangs, she coiled it together before looping it into an neat twist at the back of the brunette's head. She then stuck in some dark colored pins to keep it there while not being noticeable, and finally added the finishing touch: a wooden comb with pearl inlays in the shape of lotus flowers.

"There! Go look!" she said, gently pushing the other girl toward the mirror. When Naru heard Hinata's surprised gasp, she smiled mischievously. Noticing the other girl's clothes, she hummed thoughtfully in the back of her throat. "Hinata, do you have any light colored yukata?"

"H-hai," Hinata replied.

Naru beamed, "Well, if you wore a white or lavender colored one you would look amazing!"

Hinata blushed heavily at the praise, while Naru laughed lightly at her embarrassment. Standing up, Naru picked up her bag and smiled softly at the younger girl. "I'll go and drop off my things in the room I'll be staying in while you change, alright?" Hinata nodded, not looking at the other girl, and with that Naru slipped out of the room.

----

Night had almost completely fallen as the two girls made their way back to their rooms after dinner. It had been a quiet, informal affair with just Hinata's immediate family, though Neji had also been there. He had seemed slightly surprised to see Naru when she greeted him, though when the shock passed, he smiled warmly at her before seating her between him and Hinata.

Naru thought that the food had been excellent, and had made sure to inform Hiashi of her belief. While she ate, she studied Hinata's sister who had been introduced to her as Hanabi. Hanabi sat across the table from her, and seemed intent one looking anywhere but the blonde in front of her. Naru thought that this was a little rude, and found the girl to be a little cold, though she knew of the affection that Hinata held for her younger sister.

Stopping in front of her room, Naru turned to Hinata and called out her name. The timid girl paused and looked questioningly at Naru. "Um," the blonde began, blushing a bit, "I just wanted to thank you. I've never had a chance to do any of this girly stuff before, and I thought it was fun."

The brunette flushed before replying quietly, "You're welcome. Ano, I-I had f-fun as well." Hinata bobbed her head affirmatively, and muttered a quick 'good night' before disappearing into her room.

Naru stepped into her own room and got ready for bed, feeling warmth fill her at the thought of her new close friend.

Crawling into bed, Naru willed herself to sleep, thinking of the next day.


	5. Author's Note

_A/N__: Once, sometime ago, I had an idea. I remember watching the Naruto anime, and asking myself, 'What if Naruto is a girl? How would the story change?' So, I set out to write a story, trying to figure out just what might happen._

_However, I eventually discovered that I had NO idea where I was going with the story- I had hit a proverbial brick wall. I decided to rewrite it; it was my pride and joy at the time, and I didn't want to abandon it. However, still, I had no urge to continue, no desire to set the story back in motion- I still could not figure out just where I wanted the story to go. So, I set it on the back burner, applying myself to other ideas I had had at the time, and lo, the story was slowly but surely left behind._

_What boggles me is that Crimson Clouds continues to be one of my most popular stories, for all that it is choppy and redundant story-wise. Most of me believes this is because many of you hold the belief- admittedly false though it is- that this is a SasuNaru story, but also, a small part of me hopes that it because you like where the idea of the story had been going._

_I admit, that I had at one time considered the possibility of a SasuNaru for this, until I took a look around at female!Naruto stories, and noticed that SasuNaru saturates the genderswitch aspect of Naruto fandom. I started writing female!Naruto to be original, and when I noticed that I was heading in a very unoriginal direction, I decided to change things. This is what eventually drove me into a quandary, and so, I decided I would work on some of my more original ideas until I had found a way to break through my slump._

_Now, over a year later, I have decided to rewrite Crimson Clouds as it was meant to be. This is NOT and will _never be_ a SasuNaru story. Back when I first started this story, I didn't want to make it SasuNaru because that was too redundant- now, I honestly cannot stand the pairing. Any and all of the current chapters that I have up will be scrapped, and I will be working from the ground up._

_Thank you, and I hope to see all of you there at the renewal._


End file.
